Power-jack



(No Model.)

M. VAN BUREN BARRON.

POWER JACK.

Patented Nov. 6,1883.

to be moved.

'NITED STATES f .ZPA'T'ENT om n.

MA TIN VAN R EN BARRON, onnAU CLAIRE, Wisconsin.

POWER-JACK.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 287,792, datedNoyember'6,.1 883. Application filed May 7,1883. (no model.)

To all whont it may concern:

and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and improved power-jack formoving railroad cars on their tracks, and for moving other heavy bodies;and I do hereby declare that i the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the anneXed drawings andletters of reference marked thereon, forming a part of this myspecification of said invention, in which drawings Figure l is a sideview of my improved power-jack represented as having its lower endapplied to a railroad-track and its upper end to an object to be moved,the several parts of the jack being in their normal position preparatoryto applying power to move the object with which the upper end of thejack is connected. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section of the jackrepresented in side view in Fig. 1, and with the operating-lever handleof the jack moved from its position shown in solid lines in Fig. 2 toits position shown in dotted lines, and with the main bars of the jackmoved along upon each other from their position shown in Fig. 1 to theirposition shown in Fig. 2, so as to accord with the movement of thelever-handle from its position shown in solid lines in Fig. 2 to itsposition shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. Fig. 3 is a front elevation ofthe jack, its lower cone-shell end being represented partly in section,in order to expose in position the clamping-jaws of the jack. Fig. 4 isan inverted plan view of thelower end of the jack, and Fig. 5 is a planview of the top of the jack, and Fig. 6 is a diagram indicating the jackapplied to move a car upon a railroad-track.

In Figs. 1 and 2, A indicates a portion of a 12, with which connectionmay be made with a proper clamp, as O,'applied to the object A tance.

slides in a longitudinaldirection during the operation of the jack, aportion of the'length of each of the bars being made with a tongue, c,to travel in a groove, '0, of its fellow bar, therebyimparting to eachother steadiness of action when in operation. o

D is an inclosing-band of the bars B B, its

. B. indicates a bar upon which the. bar B two sides d d being composedof metal,while the end pieces may be of wood or iron, andthe same heldtogether by screws or bolts, as signified in Fig. 1. This band D is madeto fit around the bars B and B, so as to hold the bars in workingjuxtaposition, and yet slide up and down upon the bar B, while at thesame time the bar B is made to slide up and down through the band D whenthe jack is op.- erated. Bands 6 e, applied as shown, also serve to holdthe bars B Bin working juXta-Y position, while they also permit of thelongitudinal movement of'the bars. About central of the length of thebars B B a portion of each iscut' away, as shown, to receive a rack, asff, and a pinion, g, the teeth of the pin' ion being made to engage withthe teeth of each rack, as clearly indicated in Fig. 2. The pinion g isfixedly keyed upon its shaft 9 which centr'ally'passes throughtheband'l),

and has a bearing ineach of the sides d of; i

said band, the ends of the shaft being made square, to fit into thesquare-formed eyes of a hand-lever, L, applied to the shaft, as shown.It will thus be seen that the hand-lever L has for its fulcrum the'shaftg of the pinion-wheel in accord with the elevation of the lever L,

while at the same time the cogs of the pinion engaging with the rack fof the bar B will force the bar B upward a corresponding dis- In otherwords, the band D is made to travel up and down upon thebar B by the upand down movements of the lever L, and as the pinion g has its hearingsin the band D it travels up and down coincident with the band, and hencethe shaft of the pinion be comes a traveling fulcrum for the hand-leverL, and by this means a given throw of, the

- hand-lever will cause the bar Bto move double ceive the shank i of agripper, G. The gripper G is composed of two metal jaws, j j, one ofwhich, j, is integral with the shank 2', while the other is madeseparate, and the two hinged together, as shown. As indicated in Fig. 3,a pin is seated in the jaw j, around which is a coil-spring, k, whichserves to keep the jaws spread apart, as shown in said figure,when thejaws are not in action. Opposite this pin, as shown in dotted lines, thejaw j is perforated, so that the pin may enter the perforation when thejaws are closed and the spring compressed. The jaws at their outer sideshave a bulging or tapered form, as shown, so that when the cone-piece his pressed down upon their tapering surfaces the jaws will be forcedtogether, and thus grip the rail A when placed thereon, as indicated in-Figs. 1 and 2. As shown in Fig. 3, a portion of the jaws j j is cutaway, so as to leave a plane surface, as at o 'v, to suitably rest uponthe rail A when the jack is in use, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2. Ascrew nut, 1', upon the shank t of the gripper G limits the upwardthrust of the gripper, while a pin, 1", passed through the bar B,prevents the gripper from falling out of connection with said bar, andthe gripper thus held in position is capable of swiveling around asoccasion may require-that is to say, local circumstances might be suchas to require the hand-lever L to be operated either above or'below, oreither at the right or the left hand side of the jackand to provide forsuch contingency the bar B is made with a swivel-connection, I), whilethe gripper G on the bar B is made to swivel also.

Having applied the jack, for example, as signified in Fig. 1, with thegripper G astride the rail A, the machine is ready for operation, tomove forward the object A. The operator now commences to raise the leverL, which act instantly forces down the bar B, thus forcing thecone-piece h down upon the sloping sides of the gripper G, therebycausing its jaws j j to firmly grip the rail A. The upward movement ofthe lever L is now continued, the band D travels up the bar B ,thepinion 9 travels up the rack f, the pinion g,

acting upon the rack f of the bar B, forces the 7 bar B against theobject A, thereby moving the object A until the full limit of the throwof the bar B has been reached, as indicated in dotted lines at A Theoperator now reverses the movement of the lever L, thus causing thepinion g to exert a downward pull upon the bar B, and at the same timedraw up the bar B. The bar B being now drawn upwardly, the cone-piece his released from binding contact with the jaws j j, while at the Sametime the spring k forces the jaws out of gripping contact with the rail,and the gripper G is by the continued depression of the lever Lautomatically dragged along on the rail A until the jack has againassumed a position, as shown in Fig. 1, ready to repeat the operation.It will be seen that while the jack is moving the object Afrom itsposition shown in solid lines in Fig. 2 to its position shown in dottedlines A" the jack will accommodate itself to its varying inclination bythe gripper G, swinging on the rail A, but at the same time withoutmoving longitudinally of the rail.

My improved power-jack may be used for drawing objects together by firstexpanding the bars B B to the limit of their throw, then attaching theouter ends of the respective bars to the respective objects, and then bythe lever L forcing the bars back to their position, as indicated inFig.l.

\Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

1. In a power-jack, two main bars, B B, each provided with a rack, as atf f, and operated by a moving pinion, which in operation travels bodilyin the direction of the length of the bars, substantially as and for thepurpose described.

2. A power-jack provided with two main bars, one of which, at its upperend, is provided with a swivel attachment, and the other with aswiveling gripping device at its lower end, substantially as and for thepurpose de-' scribed.

3. Inapowcr-jack, a gripping device which is brought into action by thedownward pressure of the the bar to which it is applied, substantiallyas and for the purpose described.

4. The movable pinion g, in combnation with a movable band, D, andtoothed bars B B, substantially as and for the purpose described.

MARTIN VAN BUREl BARRON.

\Vitnesses:

L. R. LARSON, M. B. HUBBARD.

